


Platinum Chapter: A New Frontier

by KureMasasuke



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Maybe eventual Ash/Multi depending on how the story progresses, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29649156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KureMasasuke/pseuds/KureMasasuke
Summary: After coming up heartbreakingly short to achieving his dream at the Lily of the Valley Conference, a discouraged Ash is recommended to try out the new Sinnoh Battle Frontier. Through personal challenges and the unusual battle formats of the facilities, Ash finds himself growing as both a Pokémon Trainer and as a person.
Relationships: Hikari | Dawn/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Platinum Chapter: A New Frontier

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I'd say a few things before the fic gets started. First, the disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon and am just writing this fanfic as a hobby. I estimate updates to be once every 1-2 weeks, though school may get in the way. 
> 
> Secondly, I will not go back and edit chapters unless there’s egregious errors. While this start is certainly not top tier quality, I don't mind leaving it as a marker for how my writing started and I hope that it will improve over time. If anything seems similar to another fanfic, I might’ve accidentally channeled a bit of it - I’ve read A LOT of Pokémon fanfiction. Please tell me and I’ll add in a note acknowledging them! 
> 
> With that said, I hope you enjoy reading this!

A gentle morning breeze ruffled the grass as Ash leaned back against a nearby tree, watching the sunrise over the mid-April landscape of Lily-of-the-Valley Island. As one would expect, the island’s namesake white flowers were beginning to wilt as early spring ended, just like another chapter of Ash’s Pokémon journey. He and Brock were planning to return to Kanto in just a few days. 

Ash let out a massive sigh as he closed his eyes, causing Pikachu, his ever-present partner, to sit up straight on his lap and look at him questionably. They had come so close. Ash had plowed his way through the preliminary rounds, beaten Conway, and had finally won a decisive victory over his long-time rival Paul. His Pokémon had been performing at their best and all their spirits were running high. Ash could almost taste that League Trophy, but it had all come crashing down in the semifinals against Tobias. 

“What could we have done differently, buddy?” He asked as he rubbed the yellow mouse’s head. 

“Was it wrong to assume we had trained enough for him? Should we have prepared a full team just to counter his Darkrai’s sleep tactics? Was it just bad luck that we happened to compete the year that mysterious trainer joined?” 

Ash couldn’t even blame the fact he was only using his regional team this time, not that he would EVER blame his Pokémon. He had pulled all the stops he thought would be necessary, but Tobias had simply outclassed him. Ash could only make peace with the fact that he was the only person to even beat one of Tobias’s Pokémon, let alone two. 

Pikachu patted Ash’s arm encouragingly before crying out “Pika!” while flexing his little arms, trying to tell him to stay strong and to keep going. The action caused Ash to give out a little chuckle despite his despondency, bless the little Pokémon. 

“Don’t worry buddy, I’m not thinking of quitting at all. It’s just the end of this journey feels… different you know? Oddly final, if you get my meaning. Normally I’m thrilled to go back home and prepare to tackle a new region, but this time it feels like I’ll be losing something if I head back now.”

Pikachu looked at him questionably with his head tilted to the side, and Ash didn’t blame him. Ash had a good idea what exactly was eating away at him and it was something he hadn’t ever confided to anyone yet… 

It was about Dawn. 

Ash was no stranger to traveling companions and their departure, but hearing Dawn talk about possible plans to visit Hoenn drove an uncomfortable feeling into his heart which he didn’t understand. When Misty left to become the Cerulean Gym Leader, Ash had felt happy for her taking big strides towards her dream. When May left to tackle Johto, he felt proud about her growth from a Pokémon disliker to an avid and talented Coordinator, an almost-student of his. However, the idea of Dawn leaving left a sour taste in his mouth. Why? What was different about her than the others? Ash was interrupted from his musings by a familiar, if not slightly annoying voice. 

**\----------**

“I thought I might find you here, Ashy-boy.” Gary, who had come to see the Conference while on break from Professor Rowan’s lab, walked up to the tree Ash was resting against. 

“Looking for me, Gary-boy?” Ash replied in turn. 

“I just found it strange that you managed to wake up earlier than me for once, especially considering last night’s celebrations at the Pokémon Center.” 

Ash was about to snark back a reply but Gary interrupted before he could. 

“I did have something to talk about with you though,” he said as he sat cross-legged down on the grass near Ash. 

“So…” 

“You’re a great trainer,” Gary started to Ash’s surprise, “you are excellent at raising your Pokémon, and have a passion and talent for battling that I never really had.” 

“But have you ever realized your battling style has… never changed? Your aggressive attacks and ability to think up strategies on the fly have only become more honed over years of experience, but you’ve never changed your approach or team-building at all! They say stagnation is the same as regression, and you haven’t found a battle style that’s truly yours.”

Ash and Pikachu were rather offended, but Gary barreled on before they could respond. 

“The Pokemon World has changed so much since we started our journey. In just the few years I’ve retired from professional battling, 2 new Pokémon types were discovered, held items for Pokemon were realized, and we uncovered the existence of Pokémon Abilities! It’s fair to say these changes have revolutionized aspects of Pokémon battling, yet your style hardly changed or matured. Quick thinking can only get you so far, as I think this Conference proved.” 

“I find it hard to believe my STYLE and not other things, is what caused me to lose against Tobias.” Ash angrily retorted. 

“Tobias was certainly an anomaly, but I was referring more to your battles against Conway and Paul.”

“I beat them both!”

“You did, but the battles were close, wouldn’t you agree? And far closer than they should’ve been.”

“And what would you know about that?” Ash almost shouted. 

“Just keep calm and listen to me, Ash,” Gary’s use of his proper name causing Ash to pause for a moment. 

“Let’s talk about Conway for a moment. As you would know, he excels in understanding his opponents and creating detailed strategies to counter them. While you finally wised up this Conference and began to bring in your old Pokémon to battle, your unchanging STYLE of battling made it easy to devise a Trick Room strategy to beat you. You only managed to pull through thanks to Gible’s unprecedented talents.”

“I would’ve beaten him even without that…” Ash replied, though his mind was beginning to process what Gary was saying. Gary gave a little shake of his head as he continued.

“Paul is a particularly interesting one. You might’ve beaten him this time, but I heard you’ve lost quite a few times before, no?”

Ash neglected to answer, while Pikachu bristled a bit at the reminder. 

“While I can’t exactly agree with his methods of raising Pokémon, ironic coming from me, I know, I can certainly respect his unique battling style. With his extensive knowledge and unflappable demeanor, he unnerves his opponents, making them doubt themselves and suppressing their potential. Didn’t his ice-cold expression ever make you uncomfortable? Didn’t his use of your Counter Shield technique make you question what you thought about him?” 

Ash once again neglected to answer, but this time it was due to deep thought rather than embarrassment. His mind quickly ran through his battles with Paul and applied what Gary said to better understand them. 

“The fact that he already had a mature battle style allowed him to effectively combat you, who had a predictable and stagnant approach to battling. Your bonds with your Pokémon gave you the edge in that fight, but you need a battling style that uniquely you, a so-called specialty, if you truly wish to become a Pokémon Master.”

“I’ve… never really thought about that before,” Ash admitted. Pikachu looked thoughtful as well. 

“I’m not surprised. It’s hard to realize an admittedly minor issue like this unless someone slaps you in the face with it. It’s only due to your already high level that such a minor issue becomes apparent.” 

Ash fell silent for a while as he thought about what Gary had said. It was true Ash had never given HIMSELF any particular thought when battling. His focus had always been on his Pokémon. 

“So, Professor Gary, any recommendations on how I should try finding my style?” Ash joked. 

“A personal style is all about you, so I can’t say anything specific. I’d say that broadening your horizons is important, trying out lots of new things. Your foray in Contests is a great start.” 

Gary tossed a lump of papers at Ash, hitting him in the chest. Ash grabbed it and looked at it in confusion before realizing it was a bunch of brochures for something.

“The new Sinnoh Battle Frontier seems to be interesting. It’s very… different than anything you or I have ever seen, and has almost nothing in common with the Kanto Battle Frontier you conquered other than the name. Maybe check it out?” 

Gary got up and stretched a bit with a groan. 

“Well, that’s all from me this morning, Ashy-boy! I’ll see you around.” He said as he began to walk away. 

“For someone so busy as an Assistant Professor, you seem to have spent an awful lot of time studying my battles, Gary!” 

Gary paused for a moment before replying, his back still facing Ash. 

“Helping you realize your dream is the least I could for the lessons you’ve taught me about Pokémon.”

And so Ash’s sort-of-friend and former rival walked back to the Pokémon Center, leaving Ash with a whole nine-course meal for thought. 

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

“So, what are you thinking about this?” Ash asked Pikachu as they flipped through the various brochures Gary had gathered together for him. 

Turns out the Battle Frontier was just one part of a whole complex of facilities built on an island in the northern sea (though nowhere close to north compared to Snowpoint City), now collectively called the Battle Zone. There were basically 3 small towns connected to each other on the island: the “Fight Area” which contained the Battle Frontier, the “Survival Area” that guarded an entrance to the mysterious Stark Mountain, and there was even a “Resort Area” focused on luxury and non-battling. Apparently, it had already been open for over a month! He and Dawn must’ve missed the news due to being too focused on their big competitions. 

“Pika, pika pi!” Pikachu chirped emphatically as he pointed to various images of the Battle Facilities in the Frontier. 

“I totally agree,” Ash replied with a nod. 

Just as Pikachu said, the buildings all looked super new, and they were each unbelievably unique as well. This Frontier was no pseudo-Gym challenge like the Kanto one, being much closer to an amusement park focused on Pokémon battling. _‘The frontlines of Pokémon battling!’_ they advertised, _‘Where the best of the best gather to test their skills!’_

“Sound like fun for you, buddy? Seems pretty different than anything we’ve done before, so I wonder if the gang will appreciate the change of pace.”

Pikachu tilted his head a bit in thought before shrugging his shoulders with a “Chu!”, as if to say it wouldn’t hurt to try. 

“Any guesses on how long this challenge will take? The Kanto Frontier took about a year, but this one has fewer facilities AND no road trips in between them.”

Pikachu had no idea and had to shake his head. Math wasn’t the electric mouse’s strong suit, after all. 

“Spending more time in Sinnoh will hardly be an issue, so I guess it would make a moot point anyway. And we’ll get to spend time with our Sinnoh friends!”

_‘Like Dawn,’_ Ash’s subconscious muttered to him, and his mind was made up before he knew it. 

“Well then, we’ve got plenty to do!” Ash said with some enthusiasm. 

“Gotta apologize to Mum and Professor Oak about not returning to Kanto for a while, and we need to update our friends as well. You think we can handle this new Frontier, Pikachu?”

“Pikachu!”

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

“Morning, mom!” Ash greeted, the terminal screen buzzing to life as the call connected. Pikachu gave an adorable greeting of his own. 

“Oh, hi honey, hi Pikachu! How are you doing, Ash? I wasn’t expecting a call today, particularly this early.”

“Doing great Mom. Just got up a bit earlier than usual for some fresh air to clear my head.”

His mom gave him a rather stern look. 

“Now don’t feel too down, young man! Like I said, getting to the Top 4 at a Pokémon League Conference is incredible! Dozens of older trainers who have been trying for years haven’t gotten as far as you have.” 

“Don’t worry Mom, I’m feeling just fine.”

Pikachu decided to chime in as well, giving a confident “Pikachu!” as reassurance. His mom gave a gentle smile. 

“So have you started packing? I know you’ve still got a few days before coming back, but don’t you deny all the times you forgot to pack until the last minute!”

“Well mom, about that packing…” 

His mom, ever intent to embarrass him, gave a faux gasp and raised a hand to cover her mouth. 

“Don’t tell me you’ve lost a bunch of your underwear!”

“Mom! Why is it always underwear with you!”

“As your mother, it’s my duty to make sure you always have clean underwear.”

Ash had to give an exasperated sigh at that claim.

“So you were saying, Ash?”

“There’s been… some change in plans. I think I’ll be staying in Sinnoh for a while longer.”

His mom looked rather worried from his ambiguous wording. 

“Did something happen?”

“Oh no, nothing bad has happened at all!” Ash quickly reassured her. 

“It’s just that Gary handed me a bunch of brochures for a new Battle Frontier over here that seems pretty interesting, and it looks WAY different than the one in Kanto. I’m thinking it might be a good chance to have some fun and experience new things.”

No need to mention Gary’s whole speech to her. It was rather embarrassing and surprising that Gary of all people gave him some revelatory advice. 

“Oh! Another Battle Frontier, huh? I think the occasional ad might’ve popped up over here on the TV, but you know that Kanto and Sinnoh aren’t particularly closely tied. You’re sure you want to try it out?” 

“At the very least, I wanna pop over and have a look around. All my Pokémon and I have talked it over a bit, and we think it’d be a good opportunity.”

“All your Pokémon, huh?” His mom said thoughtfully before her tone turned playful, “it makes mommy sad that you called Professor Oak before her.”

“Sorry about that,” Ash said sheepishly, “I didn’t want to call you before I came to a decision, and I wanted my Pokémon to have some input.”

“No worries! I understand. Do your friends know about your plans?”

“Surprisingly, they’re not up yet. Last night must’ve tired them out. I’ll bring it up with them as soon as I can.” 

His mom gave a nod, and Ash noticed a wistful look in her eyes. 

“Mom?”

“I’m gonna miss you, honey.”

“Miss you too, Mom. Sorry that it’ll be a while longer before I come home… I should be staying in basically one place though, so I can call you way more often!” 

“Every few days, then. Keep me updated!”

“Of course, mom.”

There were a few moments of silence before his mom spoke up. 

“Well then, best of luck with that Battle Zone, Ash! Love you, and remember to call!”

“Love you too! Bye!”

The screen went dark as the call ended. Ash stood there a bit, thinking about how to bring up his sudden decision with Brock and Dawn when he was, for the second time this morning, interrupted from his thoughts. 

**\----------**

“Ash, were you on a call with your mom?” A tired voice that sounded like Brock said with a yawn. 

Ash whirled around to see both Brock and Dawn up but still looking tired, and still in pajamas. Dawn’s dark blue hair still looked a tad frizzy, though it was evident she had combed it down before leaving her room. Ash didn’t think she needed to spend so much time on her hair when it didn’t detract from her looks, but he didn’t really understand girls in the first place. 

“Sure was!” 

Ash had to chuckle as he looked at their rather tired appearances again. 

“Looks like I’m the one up early for once, huh?” 

“Yeah man, I’m impressed. Last night’s celebrations took more out of me than I expected.” Brock said with a chuckle of his own. 

“Not to mention I was already pretty tired,” Dawn added, “I was up late the night before your semi-final battle worrying for you, you know?”

“Thanks for the concern Dawn, but even though I lost the battle it all turned out fine!” Ash flashed a grin and a thumbs up at her, “I just wanted some early morning fresh air to think about some stuff.”

“So what did your mom want to talk to you about?” Brock asked. 

“Well, more like what I wanted to talk to her about,” Ash corrected. 

He waved around the stack of brochures in his hand as the group moved to sit down at one of the tables in the Pokémon Center’s lounge. 

“I’ve been looking through some stuff, and I think I might be staying in Sinnoh a bit longer.”

Dawn’s eyes seemed to widen a tad at that news and her demeanor seemed to brighten a bit. She grabbed one of the brochures and began to flip through it. 

“Hmmm, the new Battle Zone? Honestly, it sounds right up your alley Ash,” Brock commented as he read one of the brochures, “the mention of a Battle Frontier brings me back to our second journey through Kanto, though it seems this one works differently.” 

“Yeah! I thought it might be nice to try my hand at something new and broaden my horizons a bit,” Ash said before he had to stifle a guffaw, “Gary of all people told me that experiencing something wildly different might give me the inspiration needed to win my next Conference.”

“Gary did? I didn’t know you were so close,” said Dawn. Ash had to agree with her; he and Gary were pretty friendly now, but giving each other moral support was unexpected. 

“Yeah, I was pretty surprised too. I guess it’s about time we got over our childhood rivalry though, we’re even on completely different paths now,” commented Ash before he addressed Brock, “sorry Brock, I know we were planning to head back to Kanto together but…” 

“No worries!” Brock exclaimed, “actually, I think I’ll be coming along too. There’s apparently this great new Pokémon Spa in the Resort Area I want to check out. It would be great if I could get some close-up experience with how professional Breeders and Stylists handle Pokémon.” 

“Really?” Ash was pretty surprised, having almost expected to be alone heading to the Battle Frontier, “what about your family and the Gym back in Pewter?”

“It’ll be fine. I just need to call them and tell Forrest to hold down the fort for a while longer. Anyways, I can still pop back home for maybe a week or two later on, just to make sure they’re all doing alright.” 

Brock gave a big smile and an enthusiastic double thumbs-up, looking pretty excited at the prospect of furthering his knowledge as a Pokémon Breeder. Ash nodded and gave Brock a grateful smile and nod before turning to his female companion with an uncharacteristic nervousness pervading his body. He wrung his hands together before starting. 

“Dawn, I know you were thinking about heading off to Hoenn…”

Ugh, that uncomfortable feeling was stabbing into his chest again. 

“... but I’d be glad if you could along as well.” 

“I’m coming!” Dawn replied almost instantly, seemingly surprising even herself with the speed as he embarrassedly raised a hand to her mouth. 

“Uhhh, you’re sure? I don’t think the Battle Frontier has much to offer for Contest preparation and I’m not sure how long this challenge will take…” 

“Well… it’s good to take a break once in a while, yeah? And exploring a whole newly-developed island sounds pretty fun.” Dawn said somewhat awkwardly, her eyes flitting around a bit. 

Ash thought about how Dawn attending the Lily-of-the-Valley Conference to watch him was already a break but didn’t mention it. Why shoot himself in the foot when he wanted her to join? His expression must’ve exposed some of his relief since Brock was giving the two of them a subtle but mysterious look. 

“Thanks a ton, you guys. I’m glad you’re all with me, despite such a sudden and selfish decision on my part.” 

“Don’t mention it! It’ll be fun to have the gang together on a new adventure of sorts.” Brock said. 

Dawn flushed a bit but agreed with the sentiment. They fell into a moment of comfortable silence. What good friends he had! To think they’d stuck with him even though he’d sprung such a surprise change on them. Brock broke the silence. 

“Well, we’ve got plenty of new planning to do, so let’s grab some breakfast first!”

So the three of them headed off to the cafeteria, and the beginning of a new chapter in their journey. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is one of the first fanfictions I’ve written/published and my first serious attempt at storytelling. This fanfic is the result of some half a dozen concepts I had running in my head that I needed to get out somewhere. 
> 
> This work, while based on the Pokémon anime, is heavily inspired by the Pokémon Adventures manga and will feature Abilities and Items far more than the anime. Like in Adventures, Pokédexes will be rare devices only handed out to specially selected trainers at the discretion of the Professors, so most trainers (even E4 and Champions) don’t have Pokédexes. After all, handing out thousand-dollar supercomputers and super rare Starter Pokémon to every teenager that pops by seems like a terrible idea. 
> 
> The main cast’s ages will be altered somewhat. For some examples of character’s current ages:  
> Ash: 16 (started early at 10, basically every arc took 1 year)  
> Brock: 21 (became a Gym Leader by 15)  
> Misty: 18  
> May: 16 (14 is a much more normal age to start a journey, I think)  
> Dawn: 15
> 
> An additional note:  
> All Pokémon will only know 4 moves while in battle, but movesets can freely change in between them. I feel that 4 moves forces more strategy and creativity in battles and performances. Any move that was previously known (even by TM, HM, Tutor, or breeding) can be relearned freely without a “Re-learner”, re-tutoring, or re-use of the Machine.  
> Think of Pokémon moves in this fanfic like spells in Dungeons & Dragons. A Pokémon can know a whole bunch of moves, but only “prepare” 4 of them per battle.


End file.
